1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to a document handling device and, more particularly, to a document handling device adapted to conveniently hold different types of mail that a mail carrier must distribute throughout the course of his or her route. The present device functions as a dispenser which allows the contents to be taken out and used in convenient or prescribed amounts.
2. Description of Related Art
When documents are provided to a mail carrier from the United States Postal Service, they are essentially divided into three groups. Direct point sequence bar coded mail (DPS mail) is machine sorted and provided to carriers in presorted bundles for specific addresses. Mail that is not able to be sorted by the sorting machines is hand sorted to the level of individual mail carrier routes and the individual mail carriers must then further sort this mail for specific addresses. Finally, mail carriers must deliver mass mailing literature that is uniformly distributed to each address. Given not only the large volume of mail a typical mail carrier must deliver, but furthermore, the variety of types of mail in separate bundles and the need to collate the bundles on the fly prior to delivery, it becomes very challenging for a mail carrier to efficiently perform the mail delivery tasks inherent with each route.
DPS mail sorting machines have dramatically cut in-office labor costs but have transferred additional duties to the carrier. A device and method is needed to enhance the efficiency of mail distribution for a mail carrier along the mail carrier route.
In the course of delivering mail over a postal route, a mail carrier typically encounters various animals, of which the most common and most threatening are dogs. Although mail carriers are supplied with an animal repellant in the form of a container with a spray repellant, the container is often knocked loose and lost unbeknownst to the carrier. If the container has not been lost previously during the day, retrieving this container, aiming the spray at the dog, and activating the spray all consume valuable time when the carrier is under attack and require the carrier to focus more on these actions than on the threatening dog. Additionally, handfuls of mail may be dropped and the satchel may need to be removed for defensive purposes. The satchel may be very heavy and difficult to maneuver and picking up dropped mail is very time consuming. As a result, a device is also needed to make it easier and faster for the mail carrier to activate the repellant spray when under attack or merely threatened with an attack.